In Europe: Forget the Hostel, Try a Monastery

In Europe: Forget the Hostel, Try a Monastery

Article excerpt

Joe and Marilyn Shockney of San Antonio traveled to Europe on a
wing and a prayer.

After flying to Italy, they stayed overnight at several convents.
A friendly nun at Convento Oasi Regina Pacis in Santa Margherita
Ligure lugged their bags from the street up the stairs to their room.
The Shockneys spent the evening playing cards on the convent's marble
terrace as the blazing sun dipped below the grand Mediterranean.

"The beauty was just amazing," says Mrs. Shockney. "People get
the wrong impression when I tell them we stay at convents. It's run
like a hotel. My friends still don't believe it."

"We paid $35 a night for each of us," says her husband, a retired
oil company executive. "To get comparable accommodations
{elsewhere}, you'd have to pay a lot more."

When in Europe, the Shockneys did as Europeans do. Staying at
monasteries and convents is old hat for Old Worlders. Americans are
scarce at religious guest houses, opting instead for hotels, pensions
and bed-and-breakfasts. But those who do lodge at monasteries and
convents, say the experience is divine.

"One can expect quiet, cleanliness, and friendliness at the
religious guest houses," says Eileen Barish, author of "Lodging in
Italy's Monasteries" (Anacapa Press). "These are very sweet
environments. The monks and nuns want you to enjoy their lifestyle.
The rooms are spotless. They truly believe that cleanliness is next
to godliness."

Religious guest houses are open to all regardless of faith
affiliation. Hospitality is an ancient monastic tradition that began
when pilgrims needed a bed on their way to religious shrines.

Overnight lodgers at monasteries and convents often lie down with
history. Consider Casa Ospitaliera del Gran San Bernardo in Saint
Oyen, Italy, a tiny hamlet near the Swiss border. Hannibal marched
his elephants through the Alps in this mountainous region 200 years
before Christ, and the monks of San Bernardo have trained Saint
Bernards for mountain rescues since the 11th century.

Religious guest houses offer a respite from a whirlwind trip
through Europe. In Paris, removed from the city's hustle and bustle,
is Foyer Friedland, run by the Pres du St. Sacrement and featuring an
exquisite chapel. In Dublin, travelers enjoy the sedate ambience of
Orlagh House, founded by Augustinian monks in 1790. Smack in the
center of Rome near the Colosseum is the tranquil San Giuseppe di
Cluny, a convent.

Yet most monasteries and convents are located in gorgeous natural
settings such as in lush valleys and aside snowcapped mountains.
Religious orders typically cherish the beauty of the natural world as
evidence of the benevolence of God. And religious communities,
hundreds of years old, had first dibs on Europe's grandest landscapes
and chose wisely.